To some, Valentine’s Day may be a lonely, overrated day. But to others such as myself, it’s a day to appreciate, to love and to show oneself that an outside source of love and affection is not needed. Appreciation for how wonderful you truly are can come from yourself. You can love yourself, I promise.

With the colors of red and pink floating around our heads beginning around the middle of January, it’s hard not to feel bad if you don’t have someone to snuggle up next to when the fateful day arrives. But you don’t need another person to tell you how truly wonderful you are. Even if you are in a relationship or do have a valentine, you don’t necessarily have to make plans with that person or spend tons of money on each other. And if you are single, who cares? You definitely shouldn’t care, anyway.

According to the History Network, there is not one specific origin for the believed “day of love.” In fact, Pagan traditions used to occur on Feb. 15 such as sacrificing animals for fertility and slapping women in the face with the bloodied hides. Lovely, isn’t it? These women would then be chosen out of a pot for their “suitable mates” and have to spend a year or more with this man, often ending in an unwanted marriage.  

And historically, society leans towards Valentine’s Day being a day filled with romance and love, but that doesn’t mean it has to be between two people in a romantic relationship. It could mean showing someone you love and care for that you’re there for them and you appreciate them. Or, most of all, it could be from you to yourself. Who says that the one day where everyone is out on expensive dates and wasting money on roses that will die anyway, you can’t be at home stuffing chocolate in your face and laughing at a funny movie?

Also, if I’m being quite frank, people don’t seem to want to love themselves often enough in this day and age. Fear of being “self absorbed” or “conceited” flood our minds to the point that if we ever even start to think about caring about ourselves or loving ourselves for who we are, we shut it down. The thing is, you can love yourself without announcing it to the world. Simply allowing yourself to go out for a nice meal, or comfortably chilling at your house with ice cream in hand can be considered taking care of yourself. Heck, go get a massage or a haircut. Get something done that you would have never even thought about previously.

Don’t get me wrong, I would like people to realize that these things are possible even on regular days, but with Feb. 14 being just around the corner, it can bring some people down. But you can choose to not allow it to get you down. You can choose to be happy. Take care of yourself, love yourself, appreciate how far you’ve come and how far you have to go yet. Have a box of chocolates nearby, movies on play and a blanket wrapped around you.
Love yourself for who you are. Because in the end, you will always be there for yourself, even when no one else is.